In-depth modernization

construction works/projects

//24 August 2016

Since 20 August 2016 modernization works on railway line nr. 10 are moving forward swiftly.

During the three-week closure and after 40 years of loyal services, maintenance and modernization works are put into place between Schieren and Colmar-Berg. On this particular segment, the replacement of the rails and sleepers is completed by the renewal of the entire substructure – in-depth works as you can see for yourself in the following pictures. #workingforyou

Colmar-Berg train station shortly after sunrise

Security first. In order to protect the workers, the catenary is grounded once the 25.000 Volt alternative current power supply has been cut

In order to protect the track bed from precipitations, a performant drainage system is put into place. On the left of the picture: a drainage pipe

Parts of the topsoil have already been treated with a cement-lime-mixture. Drying out the upper part of the topsoil, this treatment significantly heightens the soil’s load bearing capacity.

The geotextile is distributed over the entire topsoil

With millimeter-level accuracy : Thanks to state-of-the-art GPS systems (above the shovel two GPS-receivers have been installed), the sublayer and further elements of the track bed can be perfectly put into place

Thanks to these GPS-senders the shovel “knowns” the exact amount of material to remove

The densification of the soil using a cement-lime-mixture leads to an improvement of its load bearing capacity and prevents that larger amounts of topsoil with insufficient load bearing capacities have to be replaced. A time and money saver

On the left : deep tire marks in the non-treated soil surface – On the right : Surface treated with cement-lime-mixture. Once rolled, this part of the platform will dispose of a multiple of its original load bearing capacity.

There is still some work left

The machine used for the soil densification works

The view from above reveals the scale of the machine

At some points, the ballast and parts of the topsoil are removed …

and taken away

Deep marks illustrate the weight of the heavy machines

With its special front-tool the Menzi-Muck is a precious help within the installation of micropiles